The present invention concerns a watercraft in general, and an ocean-going catamaran in particular.
Ocean transport of goods is presently in the process of undergoing significant changes. As overseas commerce increases, the ships required for transportation must be larger and larger, and must be accommodated to different transportation techniques as well as to different types of drives, for example atomic power plants. In the course of these changes, it is becoming more and more clear that catamaran-type ships have significant advantages over single-hull ships of conventional type. These advantages include the excellent behavior of catamaran ships in all types of seas, and the high flotation stability as well as the slender configuration of the hulls and the large continuous deck surfaces of catamaran ships.
It is known to construct catamaran ships with two identical hulls which are symmetrical with reference to their respective longitudinal axes and which are arranged parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the ship and are spaced from this centerline by identical distances. It is also known to provide catamarans wherein the two hulls are arranged asymmetrically to their respective longitudinal centerlines in the region of the waterline, but are arranged mirror symmetrically congruent with reference to one another. In one prior-art construction, one side of the respective hulls has a planar outer surface, and the forward and rearward hull portions are laterally offset with reference to the longitudinal center line of the ship, so that the distance between the hulls is different at the front than at the back. It is also known to provide catamarans with transom sterns.